Playoff hopes essentially over
MIAMI GARDENS — The Dolphins have been battered left and right since they started training camp, and their season finally collapsed Sunday against Tampa Bay.
Any realistic hope of Miami clawing into the playoff field was crushed by a 30-20 loss to the Buccaneers that looked a lot like the way the entire year has gone. The offense and defense took turns displaying total incompetence, there were penalties galore and Jay Cutler was a disaster before Matt Moore came in for him.
“I think if we can clean up the things that we can control, that’s going to give us our best chance,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said, echoing
a line he’s used all season. “We hurt ourselves more than anybody. Like today, I never felt like they really just flat out stopped us. It was always something when we had a drive where we didn’t do anything on offense.”
The Dolphins are now 4-6 with a trip to New England up next.
According to multiple players, Gase was frustrated when he addressed the team after the game but tried to keep his tone upbeat.
“We’ll find out who wants to work,” safety Michael Thomas said. “Regardless of how you’re feeling, the game’s gonna be played on Sunday. We’re gonna see how men respond and get back to work. I know my mindset.
“We’ll see who’s really committed. If there’s a problem that keeps happening and you address it and it still doesn’t get fixed, at some point you’ve gotta say, ‘How committed are you to helping this team win?’”
Here are five takeaways from the Dolphins’ thudding disappointment at Hard Rock Stadium:
1. The Dolphins have spiraled from aspiring contender to laughingstock this season.
Remember last year when Miami ran its record to 10-6, punched its ticket to the playoffs and gave people reason to hope things might be even better in 2017? Neither does anybody else. Now, the Dolphins are a punchline after turning to Cutler to save them, enduring a string of off-field embarrassments and scrapping just to compete with a bad Tampa Bay team at home. They’ve fully proven they need a largescale rebuild in the upcoming offseason.
2. Smokin’ Jay’s gotta go. There’s been nothing fun about Cutler’s time with Miami. Not for anyone. He’s been bad most of the year, and there’s far more enthusiasm with Moore on the field. Moore’s not actually any better than Cutler— they’re about the same — but at least everybody’s enjoying the experience a lot more with Moore. By the way, what’s Cutler gotten out of this beyond the $10 million payday? He’s got a concussion, he has two fractured ribs and he’s the fan base’s least favorite player. He had a 60.8 passer rating before leaving at halftime with the concussion.
3. Damien Williams is just as much of a big-play threat as Kenyan Drake.
Since trading Jay Ajayi and going to a shared backfield of Williams and Drake, the Dolphins got two big runs from Drake and a paltry 2.1 yards per carry average from Williams. Williams always has had big-play capability, though, and showed it on a 69-yard run down the right side of the field in the first quarter. There’s no thought of waiting for one of them to take over the job full-time; Miami’s best course is using them together.
4. The Dolphins are every opposing quarterback’s favorite team.
Here’s how fun it is playing quarterback against Miami: Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was a disaster against the Jets last week, hit the Dolphins with one of the best games of his career. He completed 22 of 37 passes for 275 yards and had two touchdowns with no turnovers, continuing a long line of opposing passers who have looked fantastic against Miami. Coming into the game, the defense had allowed a 104.8 passer rating and a 68.7 completion percentage—both second-worst in the league.
5. The penalties are out of control.
It’s one thing to get outplayed by better personnel, but the Dolphins are unnecessarily adding incompetency. Sometimes penalties are irrelevant — the Seahawks and Steelers are among the most flagged teams in the NFL — but these guys aren’t good enough to afford them. Miami gave away 123 yards on 17 penalties (one flag shy of the franchise record) against the Buccaneers, a figure that doesn’t account for the 49-yard pass from Cutler to Jarvis Landry that was wiped out by Jermon Bushrod’s holding penalty.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about discipline,” Williams said. “Guys have to lock in a little more. The refs aren’t on our side. We have to tighten technique and everything up as far as holding on to the ball and not getting stupid holding penalties or whatever it may be. A lot of times they’re questionable, a lot of times not.”